More on The Great British Bake Off

Confirmed: Mel and Sue are leaving The Great British Bake Off

Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins have confirmed they will not return to host The Great British Bake Off after it moves to Channel 4 in 2017.

The comedy duo have presented the show since its humble beginnings on BBC Two in 2010. However, it was announced last night that the BBC had lost the right to broadcast the series after a year of contract negotiations. It was later revealed Channel 4 had agreed a £25 million a year deal with Love Productions, who produce the show.

Mel and Sue said in a statement today (September 13): “We were very shocked and saddened to learn yesterday evening that Bake Off will be moving from its home. We made no secret of our desire for the show to remain where it was.

“The BBC nurtured the show from its infancy and helped give it its distinctive warmth and charm, growing it from an audience of two million to nearly 15 million at its peak.

“We’ve had the most amazing time on Bake Off, and have loved seeing it rise and rise like a pair of yeasted Latvian baps.

“We’re not going with the dough. We wish all the future bakers every success.”

The news comes after Perkins retweeted a BBC statement urging Love Productions to “change their mind” over the decision to part ways with the BBC.

The statement read: “Working with Love Productions, we have grown and nurtured the programme over seven series and created the huge hit it is today.

“We made a very strong offer to keep the show but we are a considerable distance apart on the money. The BBC’s resources are not infinite.

“GBBO is a quintessentially BBC programme. We hope Love Productions change their mind so that Bake Off can stay ad free on BBC One.”

Attention will now turn to long-serving judges Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood and whether they will remain with the baking competition on Channel 4.